ANNOUNCEMENT
Concerning the Decision 346/2012 issued by the Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE), which defines a temporary price of 42 €/MWh for the total amount of energy consumed by ALUMINIUM S.A., PPC notes the following:
• The Decision contradicts with the legal framework of the Mandatory Daily Electricity Market, which has been established based on proposals made by RAE, assuming that, especially for ALUMINIUM, there should be no allocation of the relevant costs deriving from the market operation.
• The Decision adopts almost all the views expressed by ALUMINIUM and completely ignores the substantiated views of PPC on the issue.
• The Decision overlooks PPC’s financial data, which have been verified by RAE, and calls upon an unspecified reference cost, which, however, is not substantiated.
• The Decision defines an electricity price of 42 €/MWh for ALUMINIUM. This price differs significantly from the average competitive cost of PPC, which stands at 72,71 €/MWh, and which has been approved by RAE. In addition, this price is significantly lower from the energy component of approximately 62 €/MWh, which applies to metal industries with high and stable demand.
• The Decision mentions that PPC did not really enter into negotiations with ALUMINIUM, even though it is known, that the two parts have been in continuous negotiations for many years.
• The Decision overlooks the fact that, based on market regulations, ALUMINIUM has the option to procure energy from alternative sources either from the Market or through imports.
It is obvious that this Decision has a negative impact on PPC, by obliging the Company to sell below cost, and thus, PPC intends to take all necessary legal actions for appealing against the said Decision of RAE in front of any Authority, National or European.
Athens, May 22, 2012